


The Stowaways and the Shadow; Or, How an Illicit Game of Hide and Seek Saved the Galaxy

by jilyandbambi



Series: The Hide and Seek AU [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, everybody lives au, i don't even know what this is tbh, my hand slipped and i accidentally thought up another happy universe, whoops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-07-24 12:03:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7507543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jilyandbambi/pseuds/jilyandbambi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"It had all been Leia’s idea, but she’d only come up with it because she knew something had to give, otherwise he’d go crazy." </p><p>Or, eight year old twins stow away on a spice freighter in search of answers they sort-of-kind-of-not-really already have</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Stowaways and the Shadow; Or, How an Illicit Game of Hide and Seek Saved the Galaxy

**Author's Note:**

> Full offense, I literally have no idea where this is going. It was just a plot bunny that wouldn't leave my head. Thank insomnia for that. But updates will come as more ideas pop into my head. 
> 
> Don't worry, the next chapter of We Shall All Be Healed is already underway. Nothing's being abandoned.

 

 

It had all been Leia’s idea, but she’d only come up with it because she knew something had to give, otherwise he’d go crazy.

And okay, that’s not to say she wasn’t heading down the same path. This had been driving her up the wall, too. But Luke? He thought he _actually_ might _literally_ go insane if things kept going on the way they did. Luckily for him Leia understood. She always did.   

His sister was, perhaps the only other person in their lives who _could_ understand this, because the same thing would happen to her too, every now and then. Ideas that just…swooped into their brains and took hold and didn’t let go for weeks or months or—in this case—forever. 

A good example of this was last year, when Ahsoka had taken them to their first podrace, and afterwards Leia had spent _months_ poring over every sports magazine and holobook she could get her hands on, until she could recite the entire history of podracing from memory. Until she had the full biography and stats of every single Hall of Famer memorized. Until she knew by heart the make and model of every classic podracer ever manufactured. Until the only people in the house who could bear to listen to another second of sports trivia were Threepio, and Mama, who would take Leia into her lap and kiss her cheeks and say 

“You are so much like your father,” with that sad-but-also-happy smile she would get on her face whenever they reminded her of him.

Not that Luke was any better, of course. For their eighth birthday this year, Mama had given them speeder bikes. They had both been elated as this particular model had been the must have item of the year. And their bikes were especially perfect. Of course they were, as if Mama would ever get them anything less. But still, something inside Luke kept telling him that his bike could be Better than perfect. Faster. Sleeker. More energy efficient. And so, on the night of their birthday party, after all the presents had been opened and cake had been eaten and all the guests had gone home, Luke had snuck out of bed and into the garage and started to take apart his bike. It didn’t go very well, much to his disappointment. All he had had in the way of tools were a rusty old wrench he’d found lying around on one of the shelves, and a pair of Mama’s tweezers. 

But Mama being Mama, The All-Knowing, had known immediately what he was up to, and had followed him out to the garage that night to present him with his surprise gift, a tool kit.

“You are so much like your father,” she had said with that same sadder-than-usual-but-still-kinda-happy smile, as she peppered his face with kisses and led him back to bed, with strict orders that he was not to work on his bike without supervision. Ever, or else both his bike and his tool kit would be sent back. 

Yes, whether it be podracing or mechanics or senate politics or the Annual Coruscant Fashion Show, the Skywalker twins were infamous amongst their family and friends for their obsessive tendencies. Which is why, really, when they are caught and punished—and Luke and Leia both know that there’s no way they’re not coming out of this with anything less than a lifetime’s grounding—no one is allowed to be in any way surprised. What did they think would happen, keeping them in the dark for so long?   

_Ow, Luke! Get your elbow out of my stomach!_

Speaking of dark… 

 _Sorry_

Okay, so stowing away in the cargo hold of the freighter hadn’t been the _best_ part of the plan. But no pain, no gain, right? Besides, they only had to last until the ship entered hyperspace, and then once it was too late for the ship’s captain to turn around, they could come out.

 _We better get there soon, otherwise I’m gonna puke_ , Leia sent him through their bond.

 _Don’t you dare!_ He sent back.

 _I can’t help it._ She said as another round of turbulence sent them tumbling against the wall of the crawl space. _It’s not supposed to be this bumpy!_

_You’d think he was doing this on purpose._

The thought hit Luke as the ship tilted ever so slightly, sending him and Leia slamming forward against the door. Leia groaned quietly.

_Just hold your breath and breathe through your nose._

_I’m trying!_

Luke reached over to rub Leia’s back to ease her through the final bout of turbulence. _We’re almost there…_  

Gradually, their flight path began to smooth out, and they leaned back against the wall behind them, breathing hard and steadily through their mouths as the tell-tale hum of hyperspace filled their senses. Luke closed his eyes and let his head rest against Leia’s, as they both sent one another soothing emotions through the Force. Finally allowing themselves to relax.

Just as the sound of heavy footsteps began to head in their direction.

They tensed again. Drawing their knees up to their chests. He couldn’t know they were back here. No one had seen them sneak on. If he had known he’d never have taken off, right?

But then there was the heavy _thump_ _thump_ of a boot kicking against the door. And then

“You two can come out now.”

A command delivered soft and calmly. Almost fond, and a little amused, Luke would say, if he didn’t know any better. Of all the expectations for the Man in Black he had built up in his head. This wasn’t anything like any of them. And yet, he felt himself untangling his limbs from Leia’s and crawling through the door, his sister right behind him. 

Sure enough, there he was, standing right outside the freight hold. Arms crossed and face grave, with just a hint of weariness underneath his eyes. But he was so _tall._  Even when Luke stood all the way up, the man still seemed like a giant. Like if he picked Luke up and sat him on his shoulders it’d be like sitting on top of the highest skyscraper on Coruscant.

Luke knew he was being rude. He should say something. Explain himself, at least. But after only catching glimpses of the Man (a hooded shadow. The billow of a black cloak, stealing in and out of their lives only in the dead of night), or at least what he thought was the Man, Luke couldn’t help but stare.

If this man and the Man in Black were one in the same—and now Luke was at least 96% sure that they were, then he looked exactly like his holos. Straight-backed and broad-shouldered. A hard-edged, angular face with what Luke thinks is called a chiseled jawline. And a long scar over one of his deep blue eyes. Luke’s eyes.

_You are so much like your father_

Does this mean Luke will grow up to be this tall? Force, please let the answer be yes.

As if he could read Luke’s mind—and if Luke’s hunch was right, he definitely could—the man barked out a sharp laugh that sent Luke and Leia stumbling backwards, grabbing onto each other for support.

“Sorry,” the man said, covering his face with his hands and wiping at his eyes. The traces of his embarrassed(?) smile fading from his lips almost as quickly as it set in. “I’m sorry,” he said again. “I rehearsed this so many times in my head, and it’s not…going the way I wanted it to at all.” 

“You rehearsed this?” Luke and Leia said at the same time, indignant. How could he have rehearsed this? Nobody knew about their plan. Absolutely no one. Not even Ahsoka… 

The man reached into the pocket of his black cloak and pulled out a folded up sheet of flimsi.

“ _This is a warning,”_ he read aloud. “ _If Senator Amidala votes ‘Yes’ on the upcoming universal healthcare spending bill, Bad Things will happen to her. Signed, a Helpful Informant.”_

He smirked and quirked an eyebrow at them, as if to say _Really_? 

A beat, then.

“Luke’s note was worse,” Leia shrugged, sensing the jig was up. Which, wow. Whatever happened to sibling loyalty.

“ _’Bad Things’_ ,” the Man said. “Could you get any vaguer?” 

“What does ‘vague’ mean,” Luke asked testily. Trying to fight the burning blush creeping up on his face. To his credit, Leia wasn’t doing any better. He looked over at his sister, who was staring firmly at the ground and stubbing her toe mutinously into the floor. Look, they both knew it wasn’t the most intimidating note in the galaxy. But they just couldn’t bear to give a detailed threat against their mother’s life. Even if it was only fake, neither of them could bring themselves to take it further than ‘Bad Things.’

“It doesn’t matter,” the Man said. Again there was the barest hint of a smile playing at his lips. As if, even though he was simply bursting with happiness, he couldn’t bring himself to show it. Or couldn’t remember how. Luke didn’t know which was worse. 

The Man stuffed the note back into his pocket and crossed his arms again. None of them said anything for a while. They stood there, languishing in the most uncomfortable silence Luke has ever experienced in his life. Until finally Leia said

“How did you know it was us?” Like him, she still couldn’t believe they’d been found out so easily.

“You mean aside from the obvious,” the Man snorted. He smiled the same sad-but-happy smile Mama gave when she remembered their dad. “Believe it or not, your mother tried the same thing a couple of years ago.”

Luke shared a Look with Leia, the both of them suppressing the urge to laugh. Apparently, stupid plans run in the family.

 _You have no idea_  

The two of them jumped. Well, make that 97% sure then. _It was now or never,_ Luke thought.

“We know who you are…” he said softly. “You’ve been watching over us our whole life.”

Caught off guard by Luke’s frankness, the Man looked down and away from them. He took several steps back until he hit an overturned crate, and then sort of just…sank down onto it, dropping his face in his hands. And then Luke felt the heaviest wave of sadness and grief he had ever experienced rip through him like a hurricane. Nearly knocking him over. He didn’t have to look over at Leia to know that she’d felt it too. The Man didn’t look up.

“Not your whole life,” he corrected in a small voice.

Luke had the strongest urge to run over to him and pull him into a hug and smother him with kisses the way Mama did with him and Leia whenever Things got to be too much for them, too.

“For as long as we can remember, though,” Luke said.

The Man’s head shot up. “Really,” he challenged harshly. “You don’t remember anything else from before?”

He stressed that last word, _before_ with a significant edge. Luke knew what he was referring to. It’s what had set this whole thing in motion. The memory that had put the Thought in his head that he just couldn’t shake. The day that had started out normal, but had quickly turned everything else in his and Leia’s universe on its head. The memory he knew Mama wished he had forgotten like Leia had. But he couldn’t. No matter how hard he tried.

 

_Their house wasn’t their house. It wasn’t a house at all, actually. It was a ‘Base.’ And Bases were Not for playing. Not when they were so big and he and Leia were so small, and could easily get hurt or lost or worse, should the Imps show up and kill everyone._

_Luke and Leia were four years old, they were big enough to know this, Obi and ‘Soka said. Mama didn’t think so, though. Not that last part, anyway. She frowned at them when they said it. But even she always made sure to tell Luke and Leia every day that they were Never to be out of her or Obi or ‘Soka’s sight, should something Bad happen._

_But today they were in an important meeting, and Luke and Leia had to stay with Bant. And Bant just wasn’t as much fun. She made them sit still and listen to Threepio read them storybooks. Bor-ring! They wanted to play. It was daytime. It was time to play!_

_So they snuck away while Bant was busy doing grown-up work. Just a quick game of hide and seek. They would be back by the time Mama and Obi and ‘Soka were done with their meeting._

_Luke had counted last time, and besides Leia knew more numbers than him. So it was her turn. And Luke went to hide somewhere good. Somewhere neither of them had ever gone before. Somewhere Leia couldn’t find him because she could always find him and he could never find her and it wasn’t Fair._

_A vent. A broken one. He could tell it was broken because the grate was off and it was open. He crawled inside as far back as he could go, where it was dark and cold, and waited. And waited. And waited._

_And then there was lots of shouting and screaming and bells and whistles going off. And at first, Luke thought it was because of him. Because Leia couldn’t find him and they_ had _taken too long after all and now everyone was looking for them and they were going to be in so much trouble and Oh no Oh no Oh no!_

_Luke crawled even farther back into the vent and covered his ears. But the sounds were even louder so far back. He could hear shouting and crying. And things going thump! Thump! Thump! Boom! Crash!_

_And he covered his ears harder and closed his eyes and did what he always did when things got to be too much. Remembered the General from ‘Soka and Mama’s stories and holos. His Father, Anakin Skywalker, The Hero Without Fear. Daddy wasn’t scared of nothing. He faced down pirates and bounty hunters and slavers and whole_ Armies _without bein’ scared once._

You’re so much like your Father, _Mama always said._

_Yes, Luke was brave like daddy. Strong like daddy. Everything would be okay. Everything would—_

_‘Sir!” a voice—A man in white was saying. Luke blinked open his eyes and quickly shut them again, bringing his arms up to shield them from the bright light the man was shining into the vent. “Sir! There’s a small child in here? What are your orders?”_

_Luke felt something tugging on him. Pulling him closer and closer to the light. He shut his eyes tighter and felt along the walls of the vent, trying to grab on to something to stop whatever it was from pulling him out. But that only made it pull harder. He screamed and screamed. Mama! Mama! Mama! Leia! Mama! Help me!_

_“So…” another voice, loud and scary and_ mean, _sounded out from all the chaos around him. Luke opened his eyes to see a monster. A big black monster in shiny armor towering above him, a glowing red ‘saber in his hand. “The Rebels are recruiting children now, I see.”_

_Luke looked around and saw so many people lying on the ground. Why were they sleepin’? Get up! Get up! There’s a monster here!_

_The monster raised his saber above his head, and—_

_Be brave like daddy. Be brave like daddy. The Hero with No Fear._ You’re so much like your father _,_ Luke _. Be like Anakin. Strong like Anakin!_

_—and then…_

_“_ What are you _?” the monster cried. Even louder this time. Almost like it was afraid of_ him, _instead of the other way around. “_ What are you _??!!”_

_The monster’s voice seemed to ring off of every surface of the room. Luke’s entire body shook, and he felt something warm and wet dribble down his pants. He didn’t know how to answer the monster’s question, but he didn’t want it to start shouting again. So he gave the only answer he could._

_“L-Luke Skywalker.”_

_“Skywalker…” the monster said. Quieter this time. Then Luke could hear a new voice in his head. Softer, and more person-like_

Skywalker…

 _And then there was something…moving inside of him. Luke could feel it—was it the monster?—running through his mind, like he and Leia ran through the Base, even though they weren’t supposed to. He shut his eyes again and tried to block his ears. But that didn’t do any good. He could see and feel so many things. Himself and Leia and Mama, lying in their bunk in their room on the Base. ‘Soka giving him and Leia piggyback rides. Teaching them how to do cartwheels and how to walk on their hands. Obi sitting them down to tell them stories about the Force and the history of the Jedi. On and on and on and on, the memories ran through him like pictures from his favorite holobooks. Until finally it was over and Luke was so dizzy he thought he might throw up or even fall asleep._

_But then the monster was coming toward him, the noise from his mouth hole going_ khsss-hhhh, khssss-hhhh, _with every step he took. And there was a hand on his head, a surprisingly soft, gentle touch. Then the same voice in his mind, saying_ Don’t be afraid, Luke.

_“Cease all operations, immediately. We’re leaving,” the monster boomed._

_And Luke knew no more._

_He woke sometime later on the medical bay of a yacht headed for Alderaan. Mama and ‘Soka and Leia and Obi all crowded around him. Mama was crying so hard and holding him so tightly he thought he would fall asleep again._

“Oh, Luke please sweetheart don’t ever scare me like that ever, ever again! Please!”

_Luke had never seen any growed up cry so hard. He’d rather she’d banned him and Leia from playing hide and seek forever if it meant he never had to see her so upset again. He told her so, and she’d just hugged him even tighter and drowned him in kisses._

_They went to Alderaan, and met Mama’s friends the Queen and Prince. And they spent every day playing in the gardens with ‘Soka and sometimes Mama when she wasn’t busy with meetings. There were more meetings now than ever. None of the growed ups said anything. But something Big was happening, Luke and Leia could tell._

_They found out what it was some time later. When a Holonews broadcast showing a bunch of people hanging by ropes in front of the steps of the Emperor’s palace. The one in the middle old and wrinkled and Important-Looking. But something was Wrong with the people. They looked all funny. Like the pieces of bantha meat Obi had cooked over fire for them all, once when they’d gone camping. Bar-be-cued, he called it._

_Luke and Leia knew this was Big because all the growed ups were yelling and cheering and jumping up and down while popping open bottles of growed up juice. They were so happy they forgot that Mama didn’t like them watching the Holonews. Growed ups were so silly sometimes._

_But after that, everything changed for real. Mama said they were going home. A real home. Not a base. They would be able to run around and play as much as they wanted. And there would be grass to roll around on and lakes to swim in and no more rations. There was also a Grandma and a Grandpa and Auntie Sola and Uncle Darred and Pooja and Ryoo waiting for them at their new house, with lots of hugs and kisses and even more crying. But that was okay, ‘cause there was presents, too._

_And they were so happy, them and Mama and Obi and ‘Soka. There’s was lots more running and laughing and no more meetings or fighting or Imps or monsters._

_But then Obi had to go be a Jedi again. And Mama had to go be an Ice Chan-sell-or. And a little green man named Yo-duh came to their house and said that Luke and Leia had to go be Jedi too. Only Mama said no. And she and Obi and Yo-duh and ‘Soka got into a great big fight until the green man left and took Obi with him._

_Things were okay for a while after that, ‘cept him and Leia had to go to a new place again. Cor-oos-cant. Where Mama worked. There wasn’t anymore running or grass. And they had to be extra careful all the time, Captain Typho said, because them and Mama were ‘targets.’ Mama had frowned at him when he said this. And he said sorry, milady. But the children must be prepared._ What’s p’pared? _Leia had said. Only nobody answered her._

_They found out later, what that word meant, when some bad guys had wanted to hurt Mama._

_‘Prepared,’ was what Captain Typho wasn’t, because the bad guys had managed to get past him and his team. ‘Prepared,’ is what Mama had been when she had stabbed one of them in the neck with her vibroblade, after they had grabbed him and Leia out of bed. ‘Prepared,’ is what the Man in Black had been, when he’d sliced through the rest of the bad men like they were nothing._

_‘Prepared,’ is a black shadow flitting in and out of their lives at random, whenever there’s an assassination or kidnapping attempt, or a bout of sickness, or a birthday or holiday, or whenever Mama just needs a hug from someone who isn’t one of her children or Obi-Wan._

_‘Prepared’ was a not-so-mysterious figure clad all in black. Whose face they never saw, but whose presence they could feel as if it were their own heartbeat, and missed like a phantom limb. A secret guardian. A dark protector whose existence was never acknowledged. Not by Ahsoka, or Obi-Wan, or even by Mama. No matter how many times they’d begged to be let in on the secret. ‘Prepared,’ was the Man in Black. Or, put more plainly…_

“Whenever bad people try to hurt us or Mama, you come and stop them,” Luke said adamantly. “That’s what you’ve always done. That’s what I remember.”

“You come on our birthdays, too,” Leia added. “You think we’re asleep but we know you’re there. You gave Luke his tool kit. And you gave me this.”

She reached into her backpack and pulled out her newest holobook, an eight-hundred-page tome chronicling the lives of famous female politicians.

“And you came last summer when we had the Chandrilan flu,” said Luke. Remembering how he and Leia had been sick in bed for weeks. Too weak to do much of anything except stare at the ceiling. Mama had been super worried. She’d cried all the time when she thought they were sleeping. “You said some words to Mama when we were too sick to pay attention.”

“We know who you are,” Leia said forcefully. “And you know who we are. So how come you never stay? How come you never talk to us when you visit Mama?”

“Why do you only ever come when we’re sleeping or sick or in trouble?” Luke said, hating how his voice was starting to wobble. He wasn’t going to cry. He wasn’t. He had practiced this over and over again so he wouldn’t.

“Don’t you want to be with us, too? Don’t you like us, Daddy?”

The Man—their _father_ —pulled his hands away from his face. He didn’t look so young anymore. He looked pale and tired and wrung out. 

“Of course I do,” he whispered in a cracked voice. “But that’s just not possible.”

“Yes, it is!” Leia protested. “We have enough room! More than enough!”

Daddy laughed bitterly. “That wasn’t what I meant,” he said sadly. “You wouldn’t understand. You’re so young. There’s just so much that I’ve done…”

He stood up and shook his head. He raised both his hands and, slowly—as if scared to touch them—set one on each of their heads.

“None of that, now,” he said, giving them a gentle tussle. Then wrapped an arm around each of their shoulders and began to lead them to the cockpit. “Come on, I get the feeling the two of you aren’t done pummeling me with questions. We’ve got about an hour and a half before I have to take you back to your mother. So you’d better get started now.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Like I said, no idea where this is going. If you want to leave suggestions in comments, or in my askbox on Tumblr, feel free. URL is flaminganakin
> 
> Thanks for reading! :D


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